The same body movement can be done by activating the muscles or simply letting gravity act. Both types of movement lead us to different mental states. To sleep, we will choose the movements in which we abandon ourselves.
In a previous article we talked about the yoga exercises that activate us in the morning and those that we should avoid before sleeping in order to rest deeply; Today we focus on the movements that we need to include in our night routines to favor that rest.
We will take into account not only the structure of the movement, what we can observe from the outside, but we will also keep in mind the quality of the movement. We can make the same gesture using different dimensions and elements of our physical body and this has important effects on our mood and mental.
HOW TO MAKE ASANAS TO SLEEP BETTER
Think of a concrete movement like jathara parivartanasana, for example. Being stretched on the floor with the knees bent, we will seek to support them on the ground on one side and the other, which implies a twisting of the waist. In what different ways can we make this movement? We can make a movement by projection or by weight. The effects will be different.
PROJECTION MOTION TO ACTIVATE YOU
Our starting instruction will be to bring the knees to the side and direct the movement until they touch the ground. This is the most common way to do it and we can call it movement by projection.
- With projection movement the whole body enters a state of action. You will feel your muscles activate with sensations of strength, taking direction, controlling movement. And consequently, this quality of movement leads us to an emotional and mental state that we could define with the same words.
MOVEMENT BY WEIGHT TO RELAX
Another option of the jathara parivartanasana would be to make, after a small gesture to move the legs out of the balance axis, that the weight of the legs and pelvis generate and complete the twisting movement. They will slowly descend without us controlling the path they follow to do so; The inertia of the weight will have taken over. We will call this other movement to build the same posture movement by weight.
- With movement by weight, the body enters a state in which it allows itself to be sustained and focuses on loosening the tensions that prevent it from following the force of gravity. And mentally and emotionally we open ourselves to assume the same state: after deciding the first gesture to tilt the legs so that they begin to weigh, we abandon our will to direct the movement, we focus on removing the obstacles that prevent us from abandoning ourselves and the space is opened to contemplation.
Neither option is better than the other. As we can see, each one has different effects. It will depend on what we are looking for and needing to opt for making the movement with one quality or another.
WHY TORSIONS HELP YOU SLEEP
What is the movement that the baby most often makes during the first months of life?
When he is hungry, which he is often, he turns his head in search of the nipple – a neck twist. When he wants to move, because he has little muscle strength, he uses his weight to do so. His first tests of global movement are the passage from upside down to upside down and for this he performs twists.
We see that the movement that predominates at this stage is torsion. And what are the psychological characteristics that are present and develop in those moments? Usually, the baby seeks intimate contact, is very empathetic, is able to abandon himself and is completely dedicated to the satisfaction of his priority needs.
Knowing the close link between our connective tissue and our nervous system, we know that by generating a certain movement we rescue the psychological states that, by experiences, are linked to it.
If we focus on the issue of rest, we see that two psychological states appear that favor it and that are linked to torsion. Both the capacity for abandonment and being focused on the satisfaction of priority needs are the two states that we are interested in activating in us, adults, to enter into a deep rest.
THE BEST MOVEMENT TO SLEEP LIKE A BABY
Performing torsions, in any body area, is a good option. Performing movements by weight, even if they are inclinations or bends and extensions, is also a good option.
But, without a doubt, it is best to perform torsional movements by weight. This implies that they are twists in a lying position:
- While lying on our backs, we turn our heads to one side and the other as if it were a bowl full of water that someone moves between their hands.
- While lying on our side, we let one of our shoulders weigh back and then weigh forward.
- While lying on your back, flex your legs and let them fall to one side and then to another.
It is very likely that you will need to train until you get the movement by weight. It is not a habitual movement in our way of life and needs more time to be realized, it is slower than the usual projection movement.